Thoughts on Blago, and Chicago politics in general
Before moving to SF in 1987, I lived in Chicagoland for six years, mostly in Evanston, with a few months in Chicago itself. I was the first member of my family to test the waters of the Windy City; since then, one cousin has raised a family in the western ’burbs, and my youngest sister is the only one of my siblings who’s never lived in the area. It was a fun time for local politics, because I had a chance to watch a great political drama: the rise of Harold Washington and the years of Council Wars.
My crony W., knowing I keep up on things back there, asked me yesterday at Job Club if the Blagojevich scandal came as a shock, and I didn’t even blink. Personally, I stopped being surprised during George Ryan’s turn in the tank, when (at the risk of a gross oversimplification) driver’s licenses were for sale. People who have never lived in the Midwest really don’t have any idea how corrupt and vicious Illinois politics are, Chicago’s in particular.
In many ways, this is might be seen as history’s payback to Blago’s family -- his father-in-law, Richard Mell, gave him his first exposure in politics, and was one of Darth Vrdolyak’s 29 aldermen who held the city hostage for four years. Mell was one of the first to change his loyalty to the mayor, after the 1986 elections, so he’s clearly an opportunist of the first rank. But Blago appears to have raised the bar to whole new level.
Of course, there will never be another Bathhouse John Coughlin or another Hinky-Dink Kenna.
(Ward-level politics haven’t changed a bit in twenty years, it seems. I’m addicted to a blog that’s tracking corruption and crime in the 49th Ward, which is best described as the Rogers Park neighborhood, which abuts Evanston, and where I lived for the fall of my senior year. MorseHellhole centers on the street where I lived, about a block from the L stop. If anything, it seems as if the neighborhood has actually gone downhill since ’84.)
Although it might not be the most corrupt state of our time (the NY Times points to Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and others as contenders) there’s no question that one has to have a strong moral compass to navigate the swamp of Chicago politics without running aground.
My crony W., knowing I keep up on things back there, asked me yesterday at Job Club if the Blagojevich scandal came as a shock, and I didn’t even blink. Personally, I stopped being surprised during George Ryan’s turn in the tank, when (at the risk of a gross oversimplification) driver’s licenses were for sale. People who have never lived in the Midwest really don’t have any idea how corrupt and vicious Illinois politics are, Chicago’s in particular.
In many ways, this is might be seen as history’s payback to Blago’s family -- his father-in-law, Richard Mell, gave him his first exposure in politics, and was one of Darth Vrdolyak’s 29 aldermen who held the city hostage for four years. Mell was one of the first to change his loyalty to the mayor, after the 1986 elections, so he’s clearly an opportunist of the first rank. But Blago appears to have raised the bar to whole new level.
Of course, there will never be another Bathhouse John Coughlin or another Hinky-Dink Kenna.
(Ward-level politics haven’t changed a bit in twenty years, it seems. I’m addicted to a blog that’s tracking corruption and crime in the 49th Ward, which is best described as the Rogers Park neighborhood, which abuts Evanston, and where I lived for the fall of my senior year. MorseHellhole centers on the street where I lived, about a block from the L stop. If anything, it seems as if the neighborhood has actually gone downhill since ’84.)
Although it might not be the most corrupt state of our time (the NY Times points to Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and others as contenders) there’s no question that one has to have a strong moral compass to navigate the swamp of Chicago politics without running aground.
Labels: Blago, Chicago, corruption, fail, politics
posted by PJ at 2:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home